ON PAR; Notebook: A Nod To Mandela

By CHRISTOPHER CLAREY

Published: July 23, 2012

Ernie Els was watching cricket in his Lytham hotel Sunday morning when he suddenly realized what he needed to do if he managed to win the British Open. He should make mention of Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa.

Els did just that as he held up the claret jug after his stunning come-from-behind victory.

''I was just kind of daydreaming, and that thought came through me in a split second,'' Els said. ''If I win, I told myself, I'd better thank President Mandela because I grew up in the era of the apartheid era and then changing into the democratic era, and President Mandela was right there. And right after the change, I was the first one to win a major.''

Mandela, the country's first black president and then the leader of the African National Congress, was inaugurated in May 1994. Els won the 1994 United States Open in a playoff the next month at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa. It was the first major victory for Els and the first major international sporting triumph for the new South Africa.

Mandela spoke with Els on the telephone after that victory.

''In a way we intertwined together in a crazy way,'' Els said. ''And I just felt he's been so important for us being where we are today as a nation and as sports people.''

Mandela turned 94 on July 18, and Els, who has met him, was asked if he would drink with him out of the claret jug.

''I don't know; I'd love to,'' Els said. ''I've got a schedule to run, and hopefully I can shoot back maybe for a day or two after the Olympics. I don't know if he's coming over. I'll go wherever he is. I'd love to see him again.''

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.